


Wolf Pack Prowling

by lekosis



Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: Explosions, Ganymede-13 is a nerd, Guns, Stakeout, four-armed space pirates, too much lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-29 20:31:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5141543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lekosis/pseuds/lekosis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A day in the life of a fireteam on the hunt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wolf Pack Prowling

It was starting to snow. 

Kiera glanced up into the skies, absently reaching for the infrared controls in her helmet. They slid into place with a thought, adjusting to her tastes in moments, the silvered landscape of the Cosmodrome sharpening and then flooding with color at a breath of electricity along the neural interface.

A cluster of three a quarter mile to her left: scavengers; the distant thud and clang of metal on metal briefly faded into her comms.

Four more, huddled into the burnt-out shell of an ancient aircraft, its ponderous body long since hollowed out and left to slowly disintegrate in the icy gravel. Her eyes danced over their heat-signatures, catching here and there the telltale glimmer of a frag cannon’s smoking muzzle. 

A Captain and his Vandals, prowling the ridge, weapons hot and knives arcing, the flash visible even a mile out through the snow.

“ _Visibility’s shit_ ,” hummed Declan’s voice, tinny and distorted in her ears.

The gravel beneath Kiera’s boots shifted, stone against stone, the sound sharp in her sensor array. 

“ _Wind speed four to eight from the north, temperature negative twelve celsius, sunset due in two hours sixteen minutes. Forty-three percent photo-visibility at one hundred meters and falling, infra-visibility is--_ ”

“ _Yes, thank you, Ganymede,_ ” Declan groused. “ _I’ve got my own readings, I know what the damn wind speed is._ ”

A chirping laugh, mechanical, quivering through a range of electronic distortions. “ _Always happy to help, Declan._ ” 

A little smile touched Kiera’s lips.

Movement across the Mothyards. Kiera tensed, her thoughts ghosting easily over her heads-up display. 

Declan’s satisfied chuckle crackled over the comms. “ _Showtime._ ”

Susano’o fell into Kiera’s hands as if summoned. Ganymede-13 lifted off, drifting smoothly through the falling snow, the brilliant red streak of her robes vanishing swiftly into the mists as the barrel of her scout rifle lifted. On her left, Declan was already halfway down the slope, slithering over the gravel on bent knees and pivoting heels, a pillow of Light-knit air at his feet as he hit the ground running. 

“ _Shields detected,_ ” Ganymede hummed, and Kiera could almost hear the whirr and buzz of her fellow Warlock’s eyes, darting this way and that over their targets, highlighting their weaknesses. “ _Arc. Additional ordnance required. Declan?_ ”

A dark laugh, and the distinctive sound of a sniper rifle cocking. “ _On it._ ”

Kiera fell into the basin with fire at her heels.

There were Dregs already pouring from the caves as if responding to some unheard signal, guns hot, arc lancing through the skies. Kiera spun, dodging left, Light blossoming beneath her as Susano’o’s barrel snapped into place, a charging scream erupting from its nose. The nearest Dreg went down hard, disintegrating in a crackling burst that was swallowed by the snow. Charge, breathe, _release_ \--two more ripped apart, caught in the expert slice of Susano’o’s lancing beam.

A series of pops, and two more Fallen skulls shattering to let ghostly ether shriek out into the atmosphere, told Kiera that Ganymede had found a perch she liked, the sharp crack of her scout rifle shivering belatedly through the air from across the basin.

“ _Doh, doh do do doh do do--mmhm, hm hum--da na na na--_ ”

There was a Captain, snarling on her flank, charging at the heels of its minions, frag cannon lifting. Kiera hissed, dodging a spray of shrapnel, one arm flinging up to release a sphere of molten Light directly at the creature’s face. A harsh _crack_ exploded in her sensories, shattering the Captain’s shield, and Kiera was under his guard in seconds, a second grenade at her fingertips, knuckles slicing up to drive fire straight into his lungs. 

Ganymede was still humming under her breath, a quick click of her reload crackling over the comms. “ _It still only counts as one._ ”

“ _Are you quoting something again? You’re quoting something again, aren’t you?_ ”

With the Captain’s corpse crumpling into a smoldering wreck at her feet, Kiera turned, automatically reaching for another clip. Another _crack_ quivered over Declan’s channel, and the last Vandal went down, clutching at its skull as if it could stop the ether from leaking free. For a brief moment, the basin was clear of Fallen, before the shriek of a harshly-tuned engine filled the icy skies.

“ _Craft telemetry originating from point-oh-three northwest--_ ”

“ _Over Skywatch? Probably have a ketch in the area._ ”

The skiff came in hard and fast, swerving across the vector with a hard pull to the right, grenades falling from its flanks and scattering over the gravel in a deadly rain. Kiera’s boots left the ground, the turf exploding in bursts of crackling electricity beneath her heels, and she swiveled midair, slinging Susano’o to her back and letting her rocket launcher materialize between her hands. The weight felt good, solid and affirming where it came to rest at her shoulder, and her hands were already moving, accepting the canister her Ghost manifested in efficient fingers, ramming it home, pulling it to with a heavy _snick_ that felt like fire running through her veins.

“ _Do do, na na na, hm hm do do--dropping,_ ” sang Ganymede, and three sharp bursts of hot magma flared in Kiera’s infrared as the other Warlock traded her scout for Invective.

One breath to line it up. Another to launch. The payload trailed off into the snow above them, then shattered into a brilliant flare of color in her infrared. 

Six corpses hit the gravel.

“ _I love that trick,_ ” Declan chuckled.

Breathe out, pop the spent round, breathe in, ram the new one home. Kiera cast a calculating eye over the bodies that surrounded her in a tidy ring. 

“ _Not here,_ ” hummed Ganymede.

Kiera huffed out a quiet laugh. “Don’t worry,” she murmured, hefting the launcher and settling it comfortably atop her shoulder. “She’ll show.”

“Incoming,” Declan announced, and over the comms Kiera could hear the sharp, metallic snap of Hawkmoon reloading. 

“ _Two skiffs, left flank. Stealth Vandals,_ ” chirped Ganymede, voice warping cheerfully. “ _Do do do do--_ ”

A fresh wave of Fallen came plummeting through the swirling snow, and Kiera slung her launcher back, reaching once more for Susano’o as she strafed. Ganymede was at her side, robes billowing in the wind of the skiff’s passage, her face turned skyward as if in wonder, Invective already rising to meet the new threat.

Distantly, Kiera heard a dark, satisfied chuckle from Declan’s channel. “ _Gotcha._ ”

The first pulse of Void streaked through the air and hit its mark just as the Captain’s boots hit the gravel. One screaming point of swirling gravity was followed by a second, then a third, the Fallen screeching and clawing at their eyes, stumbling sideways as the Void fell around them. 

Declan was a blur of movement over the gravel, and Kiera could see him flitting like a ghost through the snow, the ethereal curve of his Light drawn taught between his hands, the air a tangible thing beneath him before he vanished once more into the gathering storm. Susano’o rose, and Kiera realized as her finger found the trigger that she was laughing, too.

Charge, breathe, release. 

They flanked her, desperate, seeking the nearest target in the confusion that Declan had sewn, a Captain on one side and a Vandal at her back, snarling as she charged into their heart. She danced nimbly sideways, drifting on the wind as Susano’o drank its fill, catching a swipe of the knife to her side and ignoring the hiss of pain, her Ghost already moving to repair the damage. 

Charge, breathe...

A streak of crimson smashed into the Fallen flank, Ganymede hitting their formation like a hammer, Invective spitting fire in her arms, _chn chn chn chn_ , the red billow of her robes twisting with eerie precision through the violet threads of Declan’s anchors. Behind them, Light erupted in pouring spheres from the snow, a trail of brilliance that was the only sign of Declan’s passage.

“ _Do do dndn dun dundun dun,_ ” Ganymede hummed, the words breathy and distracted. “ _Reloading. Do do do dooo--_ ”

“ _Ganymede,_ ” Declan finally snapped, “ _what in fuck are you singing?_ ”

Kiera fell back, popped her clip, reached for another, rammed it home, and disintegrated the Vandal leaping at her throat a half-second before its blade struck her faceplate.

“ _Singing? But--oh! I had the frequencies swapped. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to exclude everyone._ ” Abruptly, music flooded the comms.

_\--otta kiss myself, I’m so pretty! Too hot, hot damn--_

A snort of laughter erupted from Declan’s channel. 

“One more,” Kiera snapped, one last blast of plasma erupting from her weapon’s barrel to melt a Captain’s face into slag. “Coming in hot.”

“ _Clearing support,_ ” Ganymede sang back, voice full of mechanical cheer. Her channel was abruptly filled with a burst of static, screeching through the airwaves, and a flood of hot azure light exploded from Kiera’s right flank. 

_Don’t believe me just watch--don’t believe me just watch--_

The final skiff’s occupants fell into a lake of lightning. Ganymede was singing, breathless and mechanical, as she rode a tide of electricity over the soul, blue brilliance arcing from her fingers, dancing over Fallen bodies as if in time to the music. She was giggling madly, another audio track overlaid with her humming, a wild cackle of excitement as lightning poured out of her thrashing limbs.

" _Sweet dance moves, Ganymede._ "

" _Thanks! I just downloaded them this morning._ "

Kiera snorted, falling back further and seizing the opportunity of the chaos sewn to reload. “And here I thought the Exo were meant to be beings of supreme logic,” she drawled. “No fun at parties.”

“ _There’s an app for that._ ”

Declan snorted. 

_\--funk you up, Uptown funk you--_

“ _Main event,_ ” Declan warned. “ _Falling back._ ” The pop of his sniper rifle, up and over, sharp and clear and crisp. Ganymede staggered slightly as her lightning petered out, and Kiera heard a quiet hum of sorrow over the comms.

Shaking her head, Kiera lifted her gaze skyward.

The Baroness fell from the skiff’s droplimbs like a stooping falcon, scorch cannon erupting as soon as her boots were on the ground, and Kiera hissed, dodging sideways. Ganymede was scrambling, strafing hard, Invective stitching a line of fire over the Baroness’ flank, but the big Fallen female made a hard run at Kiera, screeching and launching a barrage of fiery death through the snow.

“Drawing fire,” she snapped, firing off a few quick bursts as she skimmed over the gravel. Susano’o’s beam ricocheted hard off the shimmering field that covered the creature’s body, and Kiera sighed. “Shields?”

“ _I have it,_ ” called Declan, voice clear despite the distance. One quick, sharp shock had the Baroness staggering under the impact, and a second had her shields down, Ganymede instantly at her side and ramming a fistful of lightning into the creature’s ribs. 

“ _Gotta kiss myself, I’m so pretty--doh doh do--_ ”

But the Baroness didn’t turn away, kept coming straight at Keira with a screech on her lips and twin swords arcing before her, leaping as if drawn into space by the blades themselves, seeking Kiera’s heart.

Susano’o fell away, and her rocket launcher rose again, but the Baroness was too close, and she felt reality scream around her, fire exploding at their feet, filling her world, wiping the snow from her vision and overloading her infrared in a flash of brilliant white.

A roar filled her ears.

" _\--uardian down! Guardian down!_ ”

Was that her Ghost? 

It seemed very distant.

The fire was everywhere, in her bones, in her soul, and Kiera let out a breath of air, and closed her eyes, and drank it in.

When she rose to her feet once more, buoyed on wings of fire, the Baroness let out a shriek, stumbling backwards. Kiera was vaguely aware of Declan shouting something over the comms, but it seemed irrelevant, unimportant compared to the magma welling up from her fingertips.

Each grenade she dropped fell like a meteor at the Baroness’ feet. The creature’s wails were swallowed up by crackling flame. 

_\--too hot, hot damn--_

Ganymede’s crimson streak was at her side again, machine gun popping in a steady, thundering stream, seeking out the Baroness’ dancing form with unerring precision. Another crack issued from over the hills, and the creature staggered under the force of the impact. Kiera let the flames falling from her body lift her up, and filled the entire battlefield with fire.

_\--call the po-lice and the fireman--_

Abruptly, it was finished. 

Kiera staggered, sucking a heaving breath into her lungs, the air tasting of ash and fire even through her helmet’s filters.

Her boots found the earth again. 

“ _Got her,_ ” Declan crowed, voice buzzing with excitement over comms. “ _Got her!_ ”

“ _And… video saved,_ ” chuckled Ganymede. “ _I think I’ll put that one in the archives._ ”

“I’m sure Ikora Rey will thank you for that,” Kiera coughed, voice dry. She rolled her shoulders, popping her neck, testing the fresh links of tendon and flesh and bone her Ghost had forged.

“ _Oh! You think so? Do you think she’ll like how I used Invective?_ ” 

Kiera shook her head again, picking her way through the field of smoldering corpses to the Baroness’ blackened body. Exhaling under her breath, she knelt, picking through the shattered remains of the Fallen warlord’s armor with the barrel of her gun. “Come on,” she muttered under her breath. “Where…”

“ _Don’t tell me, after all this, that you turned it into charcoal._ ” Declan sauntered out of the fog with his rifle canted over one shoulder, a knife blade flashing in the air above his free hand. “ _After what happened the last three times--_ ”

“ _Oh, don’t listen to him. Hunters have no appreciation for beauty. I thought your apocalyptic firestorm was lovely, Kiera._ ”

Kiera rolled her eyes. With one swift punch, she rammed her gloved fist into the Baroness’ helmet and ripped it free again, a delicate pyramid of glowing white clutched between her fingers.

Ganymede was at her side in an instant, chuckling mechanically under her breath. Swift fingers snatched the little pyramid from Kiera’s grip, and the other Warlock drew it close, cooing at it. Kiera snorted, hearing the pneumatic buzz of Ganymede’s eyes and imagining the Exo going cross-eyed to examine the thing.

“Well?”

“ _Yes,_ ” Ganymede breathed. “ _Thirteen point-oh-four zettabytes. Catalogued and partitioned. 95% intact. Extraordinary. Master Rahool is going to--_ ”

“ _Flip his shit?_ ” Declan chuckled.

“Good.” Kiera’s hands found her weapons almost without her bidding it, checking the clips, reloading. “Back to orbit?”

Ganymede had lifted her head, and Declan had turned to reply, when a sudden droning rumble filled the air.

The sky above them went dark, an eerie howl quivering through the air.

“ _Watch out,_ ” cried Kiera’s Ghost.

“ _Shit--_ ”

A thunderous streak of brilliant white came down just where they’d been standing.

When the dust cleared and Kiera had picked herself up again, Ganymede was already at the Warsat’s side, cooing sympathetically over the twisted rents in its armored flanks, her Ghost hovering anxiously above her hand. 

Declan exchanged a glance with Kiera and shrugged, already pulling Hawkmoon from the air.

Kiera found herself grinning. “Oh, all right,” she sighed, turning to face the fresh fleet of skiffs already bearing down on them. She unslung Susano’o from her back once more. “I guess we can stay out a little longer.”

“ _Aw, thanks, Mom,_ ” Declan drawled, lining up his first shot. “ _You’re the best._ ”

Ganymede merely chuckled, the sound half-buried in the aggressive _chuk_ of Invective cocking. A little humm and a whirr over the comms, and then music was washing over them again, an easy counterpoint to the rising screams of the first wave of Dregs.

_Uptown funk you up, Uptown funk you up--_

Kiera grinned, and stepped forward, and lifted a hand to unleash her Light.


End file.
